Professor Sir John Aston appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research

Professor Aston takes over the role from Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, and will begin as a Pro-Vice-Chancellor on 1 September, 2024.

An applied statistician, Professor Aston leads research into the use of quantitative evidence in public policy making, works with those in public life to ensure the best methods are used, and aims to improve the use of statistics and other quantitative evidence in public policy debates.

He is a non-Executive Board Member of the UK Statistics Authority, and from 2017-2020 was Chief Scientific Adviser to the Home Office and Director-General for Science, Technology, Analysis, Research and Strategy. He was a founding director of the Alan Turing Institute. He is a member of the London Policing Board and president-elect of the Royal Statistical Society, where he will serve as President between 2025-26. Earlier this year he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences and the oldest science academy in continuous existence.

Before joining Cambridge, Professor Aston – a Fellow of Churchill College – held academic positions at the University of Warwick and at Academia Sinica in Taiwan. He was knighted in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to statistics and public policymaking.

As Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Professor Aston will provide senior academic leadership on the University’s research activities, and be responsible for sustaining and enhancing a supportive research culture which allows Cambridge to continue to flourish as an outstanding research‑intensive institution with worldwide influence. He will also develop large-scale, cross-School initiatives to tackle global challenges and increase the positive impact of Cambridge’s research on society.

Professor Aston will build on the foundations laid by Professor Ferguson‑Smith, who has been appointed Executive Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Professor Aston said: “I’m honoured and privileged to take up this position, building on Anne’s amazing work, and to have the opportunity to champion the world-class research happening in Cambridge. We have so many talented people here, and an important part of my role will be about supporting them, and making sure we’ve got the best culture for research to continue attracting and retaining the best researchers. We do so many things brilliantly at Cambridge, but our research and our amazing researchers have changed the world and we are rightly incredibly proud of that.”

The University of Cambridge’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice welcomed Professor Aston to the role and thanked Professor Ferguson‑Smith for her service.

She said: “John brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the role, and I’m thrilled to welcome him to the team. He will build on the excellent work of Anne Ferguson-Smith, who I thank sincerely for her unstinting leadership. Ensuring a creative and supportive research environment is critical to the work of the University, and John is ideally placed to inspire our amazing academic community and advance the impact of research at Cambridge.”

There are five Pro-Vice-Chancellors at the University of Cambridge. Their role is to work in partnership with other senior leaders, including Heads of School and Professional Services leads, to help drive strategy and policy development. The Pro-Vice-Chancellors also support the Vice-Chancellor in providing academic leadership to the University.